It’s just disgusting….and it keeps on going….
The Treasury Department approved pay packages worth $5 million or more for 49 executives at a handful of firms that received the biggest taxpayer bailouts between 2009 and 2011.
A scathing new audit this week by the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program blasted those payments, all of which occurred despite a $500,000 salary cap that President Obama and Congress established in 2009 at firms receiving ” exceptional assistance” under TARP.
Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Bank of New York officials joined behind the scenes with the bailed-out firms to repeatedly pressure Kenneth Feinberg, the special federal master overseeing the compensation packages, to approve higher salaries, the audit found.
Feinberg had the power to allow waivers to the cash cap, but the report found the program’s contradictory goals meant ” he could not effectively rein in excessive compensation.”
Great post Matt, thanks for the link. This story is on the New York Times too, with links to the source documents:
Link to the NYT story, U.S. Faulted Over Pay at Rescued Firms, January 24, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/business/audit-of-tarp-faults-us-over-executive-pay.html
“In one bargaining session, the chief executive of Ally Financial offered the example of an employee making $1.5 million, with $1 million of it in cash.”
“This individual is in their early 40s, with two kids in private school, who is now considered cash poor,” Ally’s chief explained, adding that such people “would not meet their monthly expenses” if the new rules were followed.”
“A.I.G., G.M. and Ally still collectively owe the taxpayers about $87 billion.”
Link to SIGTARP, Office of the Special Inspector General for TARP
http://www.sigtarp.gov/reports.shtml
Link to the SIGTARP Special Master’s 78 page report of January 23, 2012
http://www.sigtarp.gov/reports/audit/2012/SIGTARP_ExecComp_Audit.pdf